IC socket

ABSTRACT

A socket for electrically connecting an integrated circuit (IC) to a print circuit board (PCB) comprises an insulating housing and a plurality of contacts received therein, each contact comprises a first contact connecting to the IC, a second contact electrically contacting with the PCB and a flexible member connecting the first contact and the second contact. The contact has a simple configuration, it could reduce the electrical inductance effectively, it also could be closely arranged to accord with the requirement of high-frequency circuitry and could perform rapid transmission of signal between the IC and the PCB.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a socket, especially to a socket forelectrically connecting an integrated circuit to a print circuit board.

2. Description of the Related Art

A Land Grid Array (LGA) electrical connector for connecting anintegrated circuit (IC) to a print circuit board (PCB) described inChinese patent issue No. CN 2,674,686 mainly comprises an insulativehousing defining a plurality of passageways and a plurality of terminalsreceived in the passageways correspondingly. The terminal is formed bystamping from a conductive strip and includes a fastening portionpositioned in the passageway, a contacting end extending upwardly fromthe fastening portion to electrically connect with the IC and a solderportion extending downwardly from the fastening portion to electricallyconnect with the PCB. Mount the electrical connector on the PCB toachieve the electrical contact between the terminals and the PCB, thenput the IC on the electrical connector to achieve the electrical contactof IC and terminals, thereby the IC is electrically connected to thePCB.

Although the terminal of the connector said above has high conductivity,the connector has some disadvantages: first, the terminal would inclineto one side to result in movement easily, second, the terminal wouldtake up large space and could not be closely arranged for its complexconfiguration, otherwise, high electrical inductance would occur betweenadjacent terminals to affect the transmission of the high-frequencysignals.

Hence, it is desirable to provide an improved electrical connector toovercome the aforementioned disadvantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the invention is to provide a socket which comprisesterminals with simple configuration and can perform rapid transmissionof signal between an integrated circuit and a print circuit board.

To achieve the above-mentioned objects, a socket comprises an insulatinghousing defining a plurality of passageways therethrough and a pluralityof contacts received in the passageways of the insulating housing, eachcontact have a first contact, a second contact defining a pair ofguiding portions and a flexible member connecting the first contact andthe second contact, each guiding portion defines a guiding slot, thefirst contact has a pair of projecting portions moveable in the guidingslots correspondingly.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become moreapparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the followingdrawings and detailed description of preferred embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded, perspective view of a contact of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is an assembled, perspective view of the contact of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an assembled, perspective view of the socket, wherein thecontacts are not shown entirely;

FIG. 4 is a partially cross sectional view of the socket of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, a socket 1 used for an integrated circuit(IC) (not shown) electrically connecting to a print circuit board (PCB)(not shown) are disclosed, it comprises an insulating housing 2 and aplurality contacts 4 received therein.

The insulating housing 2 is approximately in a tabulate shape, it has atop surface holding the IC and a bottom surface assembled to the PCB.The insulating housing 2 defines a plurality of passageways 20 throughthe top and bottom surface to receive the corresponding contacts 4therein. Each passageway 20 is in quadrate hole shape and is dividedinto two sections, it includes a first passageway 201 of the upside anda second passageway 202 of the underside.

The contact 4 includes a first contact 41 received in the firstpassageway 201, a second contact 42 received in the second passageway202 and a flexible member 43 connecting the first contact 41 and thesecond contact 42. The first contact 41, the second contact 42 and theflexible member 43 are all mental material, they are also could be othermaterials.

The first contact 41 is approximately in sword shape, it has a mainportion 410, a pair of projecting portion 411 extending outwards fromtwo opposite sides of the main portion 410, an inserting portion 412extending from the main portion 410 downwardly and a triangularcontacting portion 413 extending upwardly from the main portion 410electrically contacting the IC, wherein the main portion 410 is widerthan the inserting portion 412, the projecting portion 411 defines aninclined plane 4110 at the bottom to make the first contact 41 insertinto the second contact 42 easily.

The second contact 42 comprises a pair of guiding portions 421 definingface to face uprightly, a solder portion 425 extending downwardly fromthe bottom of one of the guiding portions 421, a base portion 420extending from the bottom of another of the guiding portions 421 toconnect the bottom of the opposite guiding portion 421 and a connectingportion 422 connecting the two guiding portions 421. The guidingportions 421 are in long board shapes, they have a pair of front sidesfrom which extend a pair of tubers (not labeled) retaining the secondcontact 42 in the second passageway 202 and a pair of back sides whichare connected by the connecting portion 422, each guiding portion 421defines a guiding slots 4210, and the projecting portions 411 aremoveable in the guiding slots 4210 correspondingly. The guiding portion421 defines a positional portion 423 near the top of the guiding slot4210 to control the movement of the projecting portion 411. Each guidingslot 4210 has a pair of longitudinal sides and one of the longitudinalsides has an angle α relative to another of the longitudinal sides.

The flexible member 43 is a spring, it connects to the first contact 41by the interference with the inserting portion 412 of the first contact41.

When assembly, the flexible member 43 is received in the receivinggroove 424 of the second contact 42, the first contact 41 is insertedinto the second contact 42 along the inclined plane 4110, the projectingportions 411 of the first contact 41 are moveable in the guiding slots4210 of the second contact 42 and the inserting portion 412 is disposedin the flexible member 43 at this moment. Each contact 4 is insertedinto the insulating housing 2 from bottom to top, the first contact 41and the second contact 42 are received in the first passageway 201 andthe second passageway 202 correspondingly. The solder portion 425 of thesecond contact 42 is soldered to the PCB to perform the electricalconnection between the socket and the PCB. The IC is disposed on the topof the first contacts 41 and the first contacts 41 would move downwardlyunder the press. The projecting portions 411 mating with the guidingportions 421 to perform the electrical connection between the firstcontact 41 and the second contact 42, thereby it achieves the electricalconnection between the IC and the PCB. The flexible member 43 wouldreturn to the original state and the first contact 41 would return tothe original position while there are no force outside, thereby it formsa compressible socket. The socket 1 of the invention has a simplestructure, it could reduce the electrical inductance effectively and thecontacts 4 could be closely arranged to accord with the requirement ofhigh-frequency circuitry, it can perform rapid transmission of signalsbetween the IC and the PCB thereby.

While the present invention has been described with reference topreferred embodiments, the description of the invention is illustrativeand is not to be construed as limiting the invention. Various ofmodifications to the present invention can be made to preferredembodiments by those skilled in the art without departing from the truespirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

1. A socket comprising: an insulating housing defining a plurality ofpassageways therethrough; a plurality of contacts received in thepassageways of the insulating housing, each contact having a firstcontact, a second contact defining a pair of guiding portions and aflexible member connecting the first contact and the second contact,each guiding portion defining a guiding slot, the first contact having apair of projecting portions moveable in the guiding slotscorrespondingly.
 2. The socket of claim 1, wherein each guiding slot hasa pair of longitudinal sides and one of the longitudinal sides isangular relative to another of the longitudinal sides.
 3. The socket ofclaim 1, wherein the guiding portion defines a positional portion nearthe top of the guiding slot to control the movement of the projectingportion.
 4. The socket of claim 1, wherein each passageway comprises afirst passageway receiving the first contact and a second passagewayreceiving the second contact.
 5. The socket of claim 1, wherein eachfirst contact comprises a main portion, a contacting portion extendingupwardly from the main portion and an inserting portion mating with theflexible member, the projecting portions extend outwards from twoopposite sides of the main portion.
 6. The socket of claim 1, whereineach projecting portion defines an inclined plane.
 7. The socket ofclaim 1, wherein the flexible member is a spring.
 8. The socket of claim1, wherein the second contact comprises a base portion, a connectingportion connecting the guiding portions and a solder portion extendingdownwardly from one of the guiding portions.
 9. The socket of claim 8,wherein the base portion extends from the bottom of another guidingportion to connect the bottom of the opposite guiding portion, the baseportion is parallel relative to the solder portion.
 10. The socket ofclaim 9, wherein the guiding portions, the connecting portion and thebase portion form a receiving groove accepting the flexible membertogether.
 11. The socket of claim 9, wherein the guiding portions are inlong board shapes and are defined face to face uprightly, the guidingportions have a pair of front sides from which extend a pair of tubersretained in the second passageway and a pair of back sides which areconnected by the connecting portion.
 12. An electrical connectorcomprising: an insulative housing defining a plurality of passageways; acontact disposed in each of said passageways, said contact includingfirst and second parts mingled with each other, said second part havingtwo arms defining a channel therebetween to restrict said second part ina first direction, said arm further defining a guiding structure torestrict said second part in a second direction perpendicular to saidfirst direction while guidable allowing said first part to move along athird direction perpendicular to both said first and second directions;and a biasing device located between said first part and said secondpart to urge the first part and the second part away from each other.13. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 12, wherein said firstpart is moveable while the second part is not.
 14. The electricalconnector as claimed 12, wherein said guiding structure includes a slotreceiving a projection of said first part.
 15. The electrical connectoras claimed in claim 12, wherein said first part is of a blade type. 16.An electrical connector comprising: an insulative housing defining aplurality of passageways; a contact disposed in each of saidpassageways, said contact including a moveable part and an immoveablepart mingled with each other, said moveable part having a projectionguidably transversely received in a guiding slot of the immoveable part,engagement between the projection and the guiding slot restrictingmovement of the moveable part with regard to the immoveable part in afirst direction while allowing moving in a second directionperpendicular to the first direction; and a biasing device constantlyurging the moveable part away from the immoveable part.